Non-destructive weapon system evaluation apparatus and method for using same

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of a weapon system. The unique concept embodied in the present invention provides nondestructive scoring of weapon systems during simulated battlefield testing and also provides a technique of nearly total simulation of the gun laying and firing of a real weapon system. In a preferred embodiment within the context of an integrated fire control weapon system, the present invention includes a gun, a laser, and a radar, all of which are mounted on separate and independently operable pedestals. The radar or tracking device supplies position and range information to the control device which computes the required lead angle and predicted range which, in turn, defines the point in space where projectile/target intercept will occur. The gun is then positioned by the control device in such a way that, if then fired, the projectile will then pass through the predicted point in space a time of flight thereafter. Utilizing the same information, a laser control device positions the laser pedestal so that at the end of time of the flight of the projectile, the laser will be positioned towards the predicted point. The laser is fired by the control device at the precise point in time corresponding to the predicted intercept time of the projectile and target. The resultant hit or miss information, which may, for example, be obtained by means of a laser receiver mounted on the target, is indicative of the total operational evaluation of the weapon system including the weapon&#39;&#39;s target acquisition and tracking devices, the prediction, gun laying, and projectile performance of the system.

Lewis et al.

May 6, 1975 NON-DESTRUCTIVE WEAPON SYSTEM EVALUATION APPARATUS ANDMETHOD FOR USING SAME Inventors: Virgil D. Lewis, Silver Spring;

Gregory V. Cirincione, Rockville, both of Md.

[73] Assignee: The United States of America as represented by theSecretary of the Army, Washington, DC.

[22 Filed: Mar. 21, 1974 21 Appl. N0.2 453,477

US. Cl. 343/6 R; 35/25; 343/7 ED Int. Cl. F4lg 3/26; GOls 9/02 PrimaryExaminerMalcolm F. Hubler Attorney, Agent, or FirmNathan Edelberg;Robert P. Gibson; Saul Elbaum [57] ABSTRACT A method and apparatus fornondestructively evaluat- LASER ing the performance of a weapon system.The unique concept embodied in the present invention providesnondestructive scoring of weapon systems during simulated battlefieldtesting and also provides a technique of nearly total simulation of thegun laying and firing of a real weapon system. ln a preferred embodimentwithin the context of an integrated fire control weapon system, thepresent invention includes a gun, a laser, and a radar, all of which aremounted on separate and independently operable pedestals. The radar ortracking device supplies position and range information to the controldevice which computes the required lead angle and predicted range which,in turn, defines the point in space where projectile/target interceptwill occur. The gun is then positioned by the control device in such away that, if then fired, the projectile will then pass through thepredicted point in space a time of flight thereafter. Utilizing the sameinformation, a laser control device positions the laser pedestal so thatat the end of time of the flight of the projectile, the laser will bepositioned towards the predicted point. The laser is fired by thecontrol device at the precise point in time corresponding to thepredicted intercept time of the projectile and target. The resultant hitor miss information, which may, for example, be obtained by means of alaser receiver mounted on the target, is indicative of the totaloperational evaluation of the weapon system including the weapons targetacquisition and tracking devices, the prediction, gun laying, andprojectile performance of the system.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures FIRE OPERATOR RANGE HRE RE coMMAND SIGNALFIRE TRACK CIRCUIT 1. 93 96 4 j EL ANGLE DATA M 90 LEADANGLE OFFSET ELEL COMMAND 5 GUN/DP EL 4o POSITION I A 55 H5 71 9| INTEGRATED LASERCONTROLLER 4| 62 PREDICTED /66 m NG I f 35 SYSlEp I 85 ,3- II AU v 56 58I 1 I U VARIABLE A TIME c I TRACKER G l CROSS A OORDINATE GUN EL EULNLAESLER I G COUPLE E G CONVERTER DIRECTOR TR/RgKER GUN LASER oRREcT'ca aI s v AZ PROCESSOR Aw I 80 so so 70 I -I j I n n a B l T j w w 92 i 4252 54 TIME OF 68 FLIGHT GUN/DP AZ l COORD B 64 72 POSITION I CONVERT iGa 65 l I AZ COMMAND VELOCITY LEAD ANGLE OFFSET AZ ANGLE DATAPATENTEDHAY M975 3.882.496

SHEET 1 T 5" x-fi FIG. I F|G.2

76? 5O 67% CONTROLLER CONTROLLER CONTROLLER DIFFERENT 5 DATA A B BEGISMOOTH PRED POS FIRE AvER TIME ANGLE LAsER LAsER LINE OF SIGHT LASER TBEGIN PRED POS FIRE A AVER ANGLE LASER LASER DIFFERENT ANGLEBIPOSDELAYED BEGIN SMOOTH4P1RED P08 P08 DELAY FIRE LASER AvER TIME ANGLETuR'T LAsER TIME LAsER SAME ANGLESI POSITION REALGuN BEGIN PRED POS FIRELI HT ,.F ROJ SYSTEM AVER ANGLE GUN GUN TIME INTER L I I I I s T T1 T T-TIME NON-DESTRUCTIVE WEAPON SYSTEM EVALUATION APPARATUS AND METHOD FORUSING SAME RIGHTS OF THE GOVERNMENT The invention described herein maybe manufactured, used, and licensed by or for the United StatesGovernment for governmental purposes without the payment to us of anyroyalty thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the lnvention This inventionrelates to weapon performance evaluation systems, and more particularlyto a nondestructive performance evaluation of a weapon system whichutilizes a laser as a primary component thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is often very useful to be able toevaluate the performance of a weapon system, such as an integrated firecontrol weapon system, without the expense and hazard involved in theactual firing of real weapons and the subsequent destruction of atarget.

Present techniques utilized for such nondestructive evaluation of weaponsystems are, however, limited to the evaluation only of the trackingdevice of the system. For example, one such system presently in wide usefor such nondestructive evaluation tests is commonly referred to as aline-of-sight (L.O.S.) laser system. When utilized in an integratedanti-aircraft artillery system, the LOS laser is fired when the operatorpresses the gun firing mechanism of the weapon. The laser emits a beamin a direction along the line of sight to the target as defined by thetracking device. Since a laser can be characterized as a virtuallyinstantaneous device, no lead angle or gravity correction is necessaryto aim it accurately; hence the laser may be mounted directly on thetracking device, or, alternatively, the gun-aiming commands of theweapon may be by-passed and the laser mounted directly on the gunitself. It is readily apparent that in either of the foregoing cases,total system evaluation is not possible inasmuch as misses cannot beevaluated since there is no means of determining the degree of errorinvolved in a miss. Accordingly, the primary purpose of the LOS laserscoring is of a psychological nature rather than a physical one. Theonly parameter which may be physically evaluated is the performance ofthe tracking device which can be accomplished in terms of the number ofhits obtained for each encounter. Accordingly, it is seen that the useof the LOS laser technique results in a performance evaluation of thetracking system only, and fails to take into consideration the essentialcharacteristics of the gun laying and trajectory performancecharacteristics of the weapon under test.

It is seen, therefore, that the LOS laser system falls far short ofaccomplishing a total operational evaluation of the weapon system, whichincludes not only the performance of the weapons target acquisition andtracking devices, but also the prediction, gun laying, and projectileperformance of the system. Accordingly, a great need exists for atechnique and apparatus which would allow total evaluation of integratedfire control systems under tactical battlefield conditions whichapproximates the performance and operation of the real weapon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a primary object of the presentinvention is to provide a nondestructive technique for the evaluation ofthe performance of a weapon system which takes into account not only thetarget tracking capability of a system, but also utilizes, on aprojectileto-projectile basis, the ballistic and trajectory informationsupplied by the controlled subsystem of the weapon.

Another object of the present invention that is to provide a techniquefor nondestructively evaluating the performance of a weapon system whichapproximates the performance and operation of the real weapon to a veryhigh degree.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a novel andunique method and apparatus for use in the nondestructive evaluation ofthe performance of a weapon system which allows total evaluation ofintegrated fire control weapon systems under tactical battlefieldconditions.

A still additional object of the present invention is to provide amethod and apparatus for nondestructive evaluation of the performance ofa weapon system which may be easily and inexpensively adapted toexisting laser scoring systems presently in use and which is adaptableto the evaluation of any type of weapon system that requires predictionor guidance of the weapon to intercept its intended target.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a techniquefor evaluating the total performance of a weapon system that providesnearly total simulation of the gun laying and firing of a real weaponsystem without the expense and hazard involved in the firing of realweapons and the subsequent destruction of the target.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide atechnique for nondestructively evaluating the performance of the weaponsystem which accomplishes the same psychological function as the priorart LOS laser scoring method; and in addition takes into account thetotal system performace from target acquisition to projectile/targetintercept.

The foregoing and other objects are attained in accordance with oneaspect of the present invention for the provision of apparatus fornondestructively evaluating the performance of a weapon system, whichcomprises a weapon for launching a projectile intended to intercept amoving target, a tracker for obtaining position and range data of thetarget while in flight, and a gun director which is responsive to thedata from the tracker for computing the lead angle and predicted rangeof the target which defines a point in space where the projectile, ifthen launched, will intercept the target. The apparatus further includesa laser and a laser control device which is responsive to the gundirector for positioning the laser toward said point in space and whichactivates the laser at the end of a predetermined time intervalcorresponding to the time of flight of the projectile whereby the laserbeam will intercept the above-described point in space and provide anindication of a hit or a miss condition taking into account not only thetracking capability of the system but also the ballistic and trajectoryinformation supplied by the gun director. The laser is mounted on apedestal which may be positioned by the laser control deviceindependently from the tracking portion of the system. To obtain thisevaluation data, a recording camera could be mounted on, or in parallelto, the laser pedestal. The camera, if bore sighted with the laser,would provide a qualitative indication of tracking and/or predictionerrors to be available for post-mission analysis. The laser controldevice provides incremental position and/or velocity commands to thelaser pedestal over a predesignated period of time. At the end of thisperiod, the laser will have been directed to a predicted point in spaceand fired, consequently illuminating the projectile/target interceptpoint. A preferred embodiment of such a laser controller is presentedwithin the context of a selfcontained fully integrated weapon systemcapable of firing on the move.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various objects, features andattendant advantages of the present invention will be more fullyappreciated as the same becomes better understood from the followingdetailed description of the present invention when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 through 3 are sequential schematic representations helpful inunderstanding the principles of operation of the system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of anintegrated weapon system incorporating the novel delayed position laserof the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation on a time scale which illustrates acomparison between the delayed laser of the present invention, the priorart line-of-sight laser, and the operation of a real weapon system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawings, wherein line reference numerals designate identical orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, and more particularlyto FIGS. 1 through 3 thereof, there is depicted therein time sequenceschematic diagrams embodying the principles of the present invention inan integrated fire control weapon system which comprises a gun 60, alaser 70, a radar or tracking device 50, all of which are mounted onseparate pedestals, and which are interconnected by means of acontroller 40. Controller 40 may comprise, for example, a computer.Altematively, the controller could comprise a digital ormechanical-analog device such as the one explained in more detailhereinafter with reference to FIG. 4. One purpose of controller 40 is toprovide incremental position and/or velocity commands to the laser 70over a predesignated period of time in response to information receivedfrom tracking device 50. The gun 60 may represent any of a number ofconventional weapons, such as an anti-aircraft artillery gun. Laser 70is designated to emit a nondestructive laser beam when activated bycontroller 40. The beam width of laser 70 is set to correspond to thedispersion of the particular weapon 60 to be simulated. Laser 70, whenfired, is pulsed at the fire rate of the simulated weapon and, althoughthe firing sequence is initiated by the gunner using the regular gunfiring mechanism, the actual firing of laser 70 is accomplished bycontroller 40. Laser 70 is mounted on a pedestal which may be positionedby controller 40 independently from the tracking device 50. In mostpractical systems, the laser pedestal may be the gun mount itself. Thetracking device 50, which may comprise a conventional radar, maintainstrack of the target, in this instance an aircraft, and supplies positionand range data to controller 40.

Referring now more specifically to the time sequence illustrated in FIG.1, radar 50 is seen to be locked on to the target aircraft to provideposition and range data to controller 40. The gun director withincontroller 40 computes the required lead angle and predicted range whichdefines the point in space (PP) where projectile/target intercept willoccur. Referring now to FIG. 2, controller 40 then supplies gun 60 withthe proper commands to position gun 60 in such a manner that when thegun is fired, the projectile will pass through the predicted point inspace (PP) a time of flight of the projectile later. During the sametime frame as depicted in FIG. 2, and utilizing the same information,controller 40 positions the laser pedestal so that at the end of thetime of flight of the projectile, the laser will be pointed at thepredicted point (PP). Referring now to FIG. 3 in the sequence, theprojectile burst will occur at the predicted point when the time offlight has expired. Rather than actually fire gun 60, however, at theend of this predetermined time of flight interval, the laser, havingpreviously been aimed to this same point in space, will be actuated bycontroller 40 so that the laser illumination will occur simultaneouslywith the simulated projectile burst at the predicted point. Gun 60, asseen in FIG. 3, will already have been positioned for the nextprojectile; accordingly, in real time, laser 70 will lag gun 60. If noerrors occur, laser 70 will track the target using information supplieda time of flight of the projectile prior to its firing.

It is therefore apparent, in accordance with the above briefdescription, that controller 40 utilizes not only the tracking dataprovided by radar 50 but the prediction data on each projectile based onthe lead angle and time of flight which is supplied by the gun directorin accordance with the information supplied by radar 50. In this manner,the system of the present invention in evaluating system performancetakes into account not only the target tracking capability but theballistic and trajectory information so essential to a completeperformance evaluation of the system. In brief summary, controller 40positions laser 70 such that when the time of flight for each projectilehas expired, laser 70 is pointed at that point in space where the gundirector has predicted projectile/target intercept. At this point intime, the'controller fires the laser obtaining a hit/no hit conditionbased on total weapon performance. To obtain this evaluation data, arecording camera could be mounted on, or in parallel to, the laserpedestal. The camera would preferably be bore sighted to the laserthereby providing a qualitative indication of tracking and/or predictionerrors for postmission analysis.

Depending upon the weapon to be simulated, the subsystem required tocontrol the laser can be relatively simple in its general operation, andits function could be performed, for example, by either a digital ormechanical-analog device. In general, the purpose of the lasercontroller is to provide incremental position and/or velocity commandsto the laser pedestal over a predesignated period of time. At the end ofthis period, the laser will have been directed to a predicted point inspace and actuated, consequently illuminating the projectile/targetintercept point.

Referring now to FlG. 4, there is depicted a block diagram of aself-contained, fully integrated weapon system capable of firing on themove which incorporates the laser controller 40 in a preferredembodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention. Thesystem includes a tracking device 50, a gun mount 60, and a laserpedestal 70, all of which are capable of independent motion. Thetracking and laser pedestals may be mounted on the gun mount. Each ofthe three pedestals are gyro-stabilized, not only for vehicle motion,but also for compensation for the relative motion between the trackerand laser pedestals and the gun mount. The system as depicted in FIG. 4is also seen to comprise a laser controller indicated generally withinthe dotted outline at 40, a gun director 80, a laser fire circuit 95,and a range tracker 90. A number of adders and subtracters, indicatedgenerally at 52, 54, 56, 58, 62, and 64 interrelate the positionalcoordinates of tracker 50, gun 60, and laser 70 in a manner to bedescribed in more detail hereinafter. The tracking and gun layingfunctions are based on inertial coordinates relative to the bore sightof the tracking device 50. The gun mount 60 is slaved to the trackingdevice 50 by means of subtracters 52 and 56, adders 62 and 64, and lines66 and 68. Lead angle offsets for both elevation and azimuth areprovided to the gun mount 60 by the gun director 80 by means of lines 55and 65 to properly aim the gun (i.e., the predicted lead angles areadded to the slave servos of the gun mount).

During each sample period, the gun director 80 receives angle and rangeinformation from the angle tracker 50 and range tracker 90 along lines35, 45, and 75, respectively. For the sake of simplicity, we may assumethat the sample rate is equal to the firing rate of the particular gunto be simulated. in on actual operating system, however, the samplerange would be much higher (on the order of 100 samples per second) inorder to improve the positioning accuracy of the system, but thefunctions of the controller 40 to be described hereinafter would beidentical. The gun director 80, after receiving the angle and rangeinformation, feeds the predicted range and time of flight information tothe controller 40 along lines 41 and 42, respectively. Controller 40receives the lead angle information (A and B) directly according to therelative position of the laser pedestal 70 and the gun pedestal 60 alonglines 71 and 72. Accordingly, the actual distance through which thelaser pedestal 70 must move during the time of flight is determined,and, together with the position corrections and predicted range, isprocessed and stored in a variable time delay buffer and processor 85.The acceleration of the axes U and W of the laser pedestal 70 arereceived by the controller 40 along with the rate of roll G of the axes.Cross-coupling correction factors of the acceleration and rate of rollof the axes are obtained from device 8 2, and the resultant velocity andacceleration factors, G, U, and W are stored in buffer 85. During eachsample period, the stored velocity in buffer 85 (A' and B) is combinedwith the stored position corrections (AU, AW, AG) in a coordinateconverter 88 to produce an incremental velocity command, A and B, alonglines 91 and 92 which is equivalent to the position change required tomove the laser pedestal 70 to the proper position during the next timeinterval.

In the foregoing manner, the laser pedestal 70 is positioned over thetime of flight interval, taking into account the corrective positionsdue to the motions of the gun mount during the interval, so that at theend of the interval the laser is directed at the point in spacepreviously predicted by the gun director 80. Additionally, during eachsample period the controller 40 determines if any previous projectiledelay time has expired and checks the stored fire indicator receivedfrom 94 along line 96 corresponding to that projectile. If the time hasexpired, and the fire indicator was activated, controller 40 emits afire command signal along line 93 to the laser firing circuit 95.

A laser receiver, not shown, mounted on the target, provides anindication of a hit or a miss of the laser beam thus activated. Insystems where laser receivers cannot be mounted on the target, a lasertransmit/- receiver device could be utilized wherein the predicted rangeinformation could be utilized to gate the laser receiver portion so thata hit/no hit indication could be obtained.

To obtain this evaluation data, a recording camera could be mounted on,or in parallel to, laser pedestal 70. The same outputs of controller 40as described above may be used to control the parallel camera if it weremounted on a separate pedestal. Obviously, the range information is notneeded for the camera, but the laser fire command along line 93 may beused to trigger an indicator within the cameras field of view so thatinformation pertaining to the activation of the laser would be availablefor post-mission analysis.

FIG. 5 is helpful in illustrating a comparison between the prior artline of sight laser, the delayed position laser of the presentinvention, and a real gun system. The vertical labels on the left-handside of FIG. 5 represent the two conditions (A and B) under which afiring sequence might occur for the LOS laser, the firing sequence forthe delayed position laser of the present invention, and the firingsequence for a real gun system. The horizontal axis represents time,each block representing an instant in time during which the indicatedevent may be initiated or performed, as the case may be. All devices areassumed to be mounted independently on their own pedestals. Obviously,in real time, some of these events may occur nearly simultaneously, butfor the purposes of illustration, such events are represented byconsecutive time frames.

Referring first to the real gun system, the data to be used by the gundirector is gathered or smoothed over some period of time T to T The gundirector calculates the predicted angle at time T then commands the gunposition at time T whereafter the gun fires the projectile at time T].After the projectile has been fired, there exists a period of time(projectile time of flight) which is unique to each projectile. Thistime of flight is represented by the time period from T; to T,-. At theexpiration of this time interval at time T,-, projectile/targetintercept occurs at the point in space previously predicted (assuming noerror) by the gun director.

Referring now to the firing sequence for the line of laser, sequences Aand B depict two possible conditions under which the LOS laser might befired. Sequence A begins at the same point in time T, as that of thereal gun system. the data gathering period from time T to T may be thesame, but the predicted angle and position of the laser is not. Sincethe LOS laser does not require a lead angle (i.e., it is customarilymounted on or in parallel with, the tracking device), it requires onlythe data supplied to the tracking pedestal to maintain a directiontoward the target. Therefore, at time T and T the LOS laser sequencedeviates from the gun sequence completely. Accordingly, when the laseris fired at time T,, even though it may illuminate the target, all thatis accomplished is an evaluation of how well the tracking device hasfollowed the target. With respect to sequence B, if the laser is firedso that it illuminates the point in space where the protectile wouldhave intercepted the target (this would occur strictly by coincidence,since no projectile time of flight is calculated in the LOs laserscoring technique), it has not used the same data as the gun utilized toestablish its position commands. Accordingly, the use of the LOS lasertechnique results in a performance evaluation of the tracking systemonly, and does not take into consideration the gun laying and trajectorycharacteristics of the weapon under test.

The delayed position laser firing sequence according to the presentinvention performs identically to the real gun system up to andincluding the positioning of the gun. The same data is utilized for theprediction from time T to T The same predicted angle and gun position isoutput by the gun director at times T and T Only at time T, does thesequence deviate from that of the real gun system, and that deviation isrelatively minor. At time T instead of firing the laser, the techniqueof the present invention initiates the laser controller 40 (of FIG. 4)which positions the laser during the delay time from T, to T,-, theidentical interval of time as the projectile time of flight in the realgun system. Accordingly, at time T,, the laser will be directed at thepoint in space where the projectile/target intercept will occur. This isthe same point in space described above with reference to the real gunsystem. At time T a laser controller will fire the laser and the beamtherefrom will illuminate the intercept point.

Accordingly, it is seen that we have provided a method and apparatus fornondestructively evaluating the performance of a weapon system whichtakes into account not only the target tracking capability of thesystem, but also utilizes, on a projectile-to-projectile basis, theballistic and trajectory information supplied by the director subsystemof the weapon. Since the system of the present invention utilizes thesame data used in the actual firing of the weapon, the present techniqueapproximates the performance and operation of the real weapon to adegree heretofore unobtainable. Accordingly, the present inventionallows total evaluation of integrated fire control systems undertactical battlefield conditions. It will be understood by those skilledin the an that with the addition of a controller to the laser scoringsystems presently in use, the present invention may be utilized toevaluate a wide range of weapons from anti-aircraft artillery systems toselfcontained mobile missile systems, that is, any type of weapon thatrequires prediction or guidance to intercept its intended target.

It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that, with theexception of gun vibration and perturbation of the flight path of eachindividual projectile by the environment, the real gun system has beentotally simulated by the technique and apparatus of the presentinvention on a projectile-to-projectile basis. The target has beenallowed the same amount of time as it would have against a real gun tomaneuver or evade the weapon during the projectile time of flight. Insome cases where a relatively long time of flight and a highlymaneuverable target are involved, this time factor could be of greatsignificance in the tactical evaluation of a weapon system. Prior artscoring systems take the foregoing into account only on a general basisduring postmission processing and analysis. It is also apparent that theperturbation of the flight path of each projectile could be successfullysimulated by inserting a random error into the positioning servo foreach projectile; accordingly, the effects of the environment and the gunvibration on the projectile path can be made to approach those of thereal weapon.

We wish it to be understood that we do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications can be made by a person skilled in the art. It istherefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claimsthe invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. Apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of a weaponsystem, which comprises:

weapon means for launching a projectile intended to intercept a movingtarget;

tracking means for obtaining position and range data of said target;first control means responsive to said data for computing the lead angleand predicted range of said target to define a point in space where saidprojectile, if then launched, will intercept said target;

laser means for illuminating said point in space with a laser beam; and

laser control means responsive to said first control means forpositioning said laser means at said point in space and for activatingsaid laser means at the end of a predetermined time interval.

2. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of aweapon system according to claim 1, further comprising servo meansresponsive to said first control means for positioning said weapon meanssuch that said projectile, if then fired, will pass through said pointin space at the end of said predetermined time interval.

3. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of aweapon system according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined timeinterval corresponds to the time of flight of said projectile from saidweapon means to said point in space.

4. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of aweapon system according to claim 1, further comprising means forrecording information as to whether or not said laser beam has strucksaid target at said point in space.

5. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of aweapon system according to claim 3, further comprising first and secondpedestal means for mounting said weapon means and said laser means,respectively, said first pedestal means being responsive to said servomeans and said second pedestal means being responsive to said lasercontrol means whereby said second pedestal means is activated duringsaid predetermined time interval; and a third pedestal means formounting said tracking means.

6. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of aweapon system according to claim 5, wherein said first control meanscomprises gun director means for accepting information from an angletracker and a range tracker which comprise said tracking means, said gundirector means providing lead angle offset information to said lasercontrol means.

7. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of aweapon system according to claim 6, wherein said laser control meanscomprises variable time delay buffer and processor means responsive tosaid predicted range and time of flight information from said gundirector means for generating incremental velocity commands to saidsecond pedestal means, which velocity commands correspond to theposition change required to move said second pedestal means to theproper position during said predetermined time interval.

8. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of aweapon system according to claim 4, wherein said information recordingmeans includes a laser receiver mounted on said moving target.

9. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of aweapon system according to claim 4, wherein said information recordingmeans includes a laser transceiver as comprising said laser means, andmeans for gating said transceiver in response to said predicted rangedata from said first control means.

10. In a system which includes weapon means for launching a projectileintended to intercept a moving target, means for tracking the target,laser means, and means for controlling said weapon means and said lasermeans in response to said tracking means, a method for nondestructivelyevaluating the performance of said system which comprises the steps of;

feeding position and range data of said target obtained by said trackingmeans to said control means;

computing the predicted lead angle and range by means of said controlmeans which defines the point in space where said projectile willintercept said target if then fired;

positioning said weapon means in response to said computed lead angleand range such that if said weapon means is then fired, said projectilewill pass through said point in space a predetermined time of flight ofsaid projectile thereafter;

positioning said laser means during said predetermined time such that atthe end of said predetermined time said laser means is aimed at saidpoint in space;

activating said laser means by said control means at the end of saidpredetermined time such that said laser means emits a beam whichilluminates said point in space; and

recording information as to Whether said laser beam has or has notstruck said target at said point in space whereby the operation of saidtracking means, said weapon means and said control means may beconcommitantly evaluated.

1. Apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of a weaponsystem, whiCh comprises: weapon means for launching a projectileintended to intercept a moving target; tracking means for obtainingposition and range data of said target; first control means responsiveto said data for computing the lead angle and predicted range of saidtarget to define a point in space where said projectile, if thenlaunched, will intercept said target; laser means for illuminating saidpoint in space with a laser beam; and laser control means responsive tosaid first control means for positioning said laser means at said pointin space and for activating said laser means at the end of apredetermined time interval.
 2. The apparatus for nondestructivelyevaluating the performance of a weapon system according to claim 1,further comprising servo means responsive to said first control meansfor positioning said weapon means such that said projectile, if thenfired, will pass through said point in space at the end of saidpredetermined time interval.
 3. The apparatus for nondestructivelyevaluating the performance of a weapon system according to claim 2,wherein said predetermined time interval corresponds to the time offlight of said projectile from said weapon means to said point in space.4. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluating the performance of aweapon system according to claim 1, further comprising means forrecording information as to whether or not said laser beam has strucksaid target at said point in space.
 5. The apparatus fornondestructively evaluating the performance of a weapon system accordingto claim 3, further comprising first and second pedestal means formounting said weapon means and said laser means, respectively, saidfirst pedestal means being responsive to said servo means and saidsecond pedestal means being responsive to said laser control meanswhereby said second pedestal means is activated during saidpredetermined time interval; and a third pedestal means for mountingsaid tracking means.
 6. The apparatus for nondestructively evaluatingthe performance of a weapon system according to claim 5, wherein saidfirst control means comprises gun director means for acceptinginformation from an angle tracker and a range tracker which comprisesaid tracking means, said gun director means providing lead angle offsetinformation to said laser control means.
 7. The apparatus fornondestructively evaluating the performance of a weapon system accordingto claim 6, wherein said laser control means comprises variable timedelay buffer and processor means responsive to said predicted range andtime of flight information from said gun director means for generatingincremental velocity commands to said second pedestal means, whichvelocity commands correspond to the position change required to movesaid second pedestal means to the proper position during saidpredetermined time interval.
 8. The apparatus for nondestructivelyevaluating the performance of a weapon system according to claim 4,wherein said information recording means includes a laser receivermounted on said moving target.
 9. The apparatus for nondestructivelyevaluating the performance of a weapon system according to claim 4,wherein said information recording means includes a laser transceiver ascomprising said laser means, and means for gating said transceiver inresponse to said predicted range data from said first control means. 10.In a system which includes weapon means for launching a projectileintended to intercept a moving target, means for tracking the target,laser means, and means for controlling said weapon means and said lasermeans in response to said tracking means, a method for nondestructivelyevaluating the performance of said system which comprises the steps of:feeding position and range data of said target obtained by said trackingmeans to said control means; computing the predicted lead angle andrange by means of said control means which defines the point in spacewhere said projectile will intercept said target if then fired;positioning said weapon means in response to said computed lead angleand range such that if said weapon means is then fired, said projectilewill pass through said point in space a predetermined time of flight ofsaid projectile thereafter; positioning said laser means during saidpredetermined time such that at the end of said predetermined time saidlaser means is aimed at said point in space; activating said laser meansby said control means at the end of said predetermined time such thatsaid laser means emits a beam which illuminates said point in space; andrecording information as to whether said laser beam has or has notstruck said target at said point in space whereby the operation of saidtracking means, said weapon means and said control means may beconcommitantly evaluated.